Recipe Alert: Chilled Cantaloupe Mint Soup

Since we are having some wonderful hot weather, I wanted to make a refreshing and light soup for dinner. I had a very ripe cantaloupe in the fridge and decided to make a Chilled Cantaloupe Mint Soup. Here are the deets:

Ingredients:

1 ripe cantaloupe

A couple sprigs of fresh mint

1/4c of honey Greek yogurt

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients until completely smooth. Chill in the fridge at least an hour before serving. Enjoy!

Servings:  4

Fun Times in Bocas...

Good Morning from Bocas Del Toro! Today is our last full day in Bocas. Tomorrow we spend a day in Panama City. 

Right now I'm chillin outside the deck of the cabin with this guy

So, let's talk about yesterday. After a delicious breakfast of coffee, fruit, eggs and potatoes, Raj and I headed to PanJam for some dolphin sight seeing and snorkeling. 

PanJam was recommended by Jack and they were pretty awesome. 

Once we arrived at PanJam we got in a boat and took a 15 minute ride to Dolphin Bay. At Dolphin Bay we were able to do some dolphin sight seeing. 

I managed to get a few pictures, mostly of fins. 

After 25 minutes at Dolphin Bay we went to Coral Keys for some snorkeling. 

On our way to Coral Keys we passed some amazing coral and starfish. 

Beautiful. 

After another 15 minutes we arrived in Coral Keys for some snorkeling and lunch. 

After snorkeling and some lunch we took another 25 minute boat ride to Red Frog Beach. 

Once we docked we had a 15 minute walk to the beach. 

Guess what we saw along the way:

Can you see the tiny little red frogs? That's as big as they get. 

Eventually, we made it to the beautiful beach. 

This beach was so much fun. The water was warm and the waves were strong. We went out really far in the ocean and the water was still only to our knees. This beach was fun because we did a lot of body surfing as the waves came. Good times. 

After a couple of hours at the beach we headed back to town. 

When we got to our cabin we ran into these lovely ladies, fishing!

These girls were so cute. They were right outside our cabin and caught about 15 fish. After chatting with these girls for a bit we headed out for dinner. 

We went to a cute taqueria called Taco Surf. 

This was a really cute place. We ate outside where it was a little cooler. 

I ordered the fish tacos. This came with a side of rice and beans and chips. 

Delicious. 

After dinner we walked around town. We stopped at an ice cream shop and we both had dulce de leche ice cream cones. 

Well now we are off to enjoy our last full Day in Bocas. 

Till tomorrow...

Evening in Bocas Del Toro

Good Morning from Bocas Del Toro!

A few pics of the sunset I took yesterday evening, before dinner:

Last night Raj and I asked Jack and Lee for dinner recommendations in the area. They both suggested we try out El Ultimo Refugio. So, we took a taxi and headed there. 

Last nights menu:

This restaurant was awesome! The atmosphere was great with live music, overlooking the water. The restaurant owners are from D.C., the chef from Seattle and our waitress from Chicago!

Raj and I started by sharing an appetizer. We got the grilled octopus minus the chorizo. It was DELICIOUS!!!

The dish was on top of an eggplant purée and then topped with sunflower seeds and fried potato skins. 

For my entree I ordered the Shrimp Pesto Pasta. 

Although the dish had a bit too much sauce for my taste but the it was still very delicious. It was also so rich.  I ate half of this and saved the rest for later. The shrimp tasted so fresh and delicious. 

For dessert Raj and I shared the Peanut Butter Snickers Pie with Oreo Crust. 

This was a whole slice of pie but Raj and I clearly dug in like savages before taking a picture :-)

Mmmm....delicious. 

After dinner we walked around town for a bit. I love seeking all the colorful houses, watching the children play outside and seeing food being cooked on street grills. It was too dark for any good pics. Hopefully more tomorrow. 

After walking around we took a taxi back to the cabin. 

Now I'm sitting on the cabin deck:

We will head out to breakfast in 20 minutes and figure out how we will spend this beautiful day. 

Panama: Bocas Del Toro

Well, we finally made it after an hour long flight from Panama City to Bocas Del Toro. 

Once we arrived we had a short drive to our WONDERFUL bed and breakfast, Koko Resort. 

Once we got to Koko Resort we were greated by Jack and Lee, the lovely owners of the resort. 

Side note:  Jack and Lee have lived in Panama for the past eight years running their bed and breakfast. They are originally from Ohio. 

Jack was already making us breakfast and Lee was serving us coffee. 

Jack made French toast and sausage. I had the French toast with sliced up fruit (the fruit is all grown on the island). 

Once we were done with breakfast we were brought to our cabin. Be prepared to be blown away:

Yes, my friends...this beautiful cabin has a full kitchen, bathroom and bedroom AND is on the water with a beautiful view!

Once Raj and I settled in we took a short walk to the grocery store and picked up a few bottles of water. We were advised not to drink the tap water here. 

Once back Raj and I knew we had to get to the beach. We packed up our beach bag and walked to the bus stop to take the direct bus to Drago beach. 

We were told Drago beach is a quiet beach with tranquil waters. The bus ride was about 25 minutes. 

Once there we hiked a two mile path to the actual beach. 

After the hike we were rewarded with a beautiful beach. 

We were at the beach all day. It was wonderful. The sun was out and the water was warm. Heaven. 

Lunch time rolled around and we got lunch from a small shack on the beach. I had the snapper, locally caught. 

The snapper was delicious. Along side the snapper were plantains, rice and salad. YUM!!

Then there was more beach time :-)

Can you see the hundreds of teeny tiny crabs? They are everywhere. 

Towards the evening we left the beach. Remember that two mile hike we took ginger to the beach?  Well we found out this thing would take us back for $1.50: 

:) that was a no brainer. We paid the $1.50. 

We are now on our way back to the bed and breakfast.

Raj and I plan to have dinner at a local place in town. Stay tuned...

Panama: On Our Way to Bocas Del Toro

Wake up time. In the AM. 

Must inject 

Stat. 

Sitting in Albrook Airport in Panama City sipping on cafe negro in a small coffee shop at the airport.